Tales from the Dark Side: Revenge & Retribution
by Comrade Claus
Summary: Rogue Squadron & Luke Skywalker face the ultimate challenge. Can they really defeat the 'Son of God' ? Should I Rerate? it's quite violent!


Star Wars

Tales from The Dark Side

Rogue Squadron "Humiliations & Retribution"

Captain Jonas Author

Sirena Black Editor

Prelude

"**Libertines** **&** **lizards****"**

In a region of space controlled by remaining Imperial

Forces, several _Star Destroyers_ drifted alongside a massive **Kuat Drive Yards** _luxury liner_ 'owned' by an upstart, ambitious businessman; Lueg Heggin, founder of **Imperial Corporation** (**ImCorp**). On the liner, a gala was being held for all loyal Imperials with money. To insure security, only those with proven 'credentials' were invited. He brushed off his smart suit of the latest Kuati fashion and ran his hands over his massive sphere of elaborately coiffed black hair then cleared his throat. He spoke with a strong, soft voice.

"Ladies and noblemen, Warlords and Moffs, I thank you for coming here to support the New Order. I trust that the food's better than rations, eh?"

This brought laughs from the officers and puzzled whispers from the women, as intended.

"Alright, to business. I must ask all those with family in Rebel-held territory to please leave."

This brought an uproar from most of the guests, as intended. A Naval Captain protested.

"Who are you to make such demands of us?! First, you only invite those who have fantastic wealth or vast fleets. And of these, only the famous (and infamous) are allowed. Now this?! We don't even know you!"

"How sad, and here I thought that you WANTED to be regarded as one of the Empire's elite. I guess you came only for the free food. Except it ISN'T free. Imperial citizens paid for it. Moreover, I don't think they'll appreciate finding out that their taxes are being squandered. At least YOU won't be leaving unentertained OR with an empty stomach." Some of the guests laughed, for the captain was quite obese. Others were exasperated.

Before the situation could escalate, a rough voice called out. "Chairman Heggin, I have just 'persuaded' our chief designer to allow everyone here, Rebel spies especially, to see our products. Maybe this'll make them roll over and die." Applause greeted the newcomer's speech, followed by gasps as the arrival joined Heggin at the podium.

The woman was dressed appropriately enough, in a sleeveless evening gown, but as she walked, they could see that she wore stormtrooper boots with shinguards. Quite tall, her head was crowned with spiky blond hair, trimmed short on top and shaved at the temples to reveal lightning bolt tattoos. Though fairly young, her skin was deeply lined and darkened from overexposure to sunlight; on her bare arms, it was heavily scarred. Her physique was too powerfully built for her to be a normal civilian. Most striking were her hands, the knuckles of which bore two-centimeter durasteel blades! Obviously, there was something very, VERY wrong here! Heggin could feel the tension.

"My esteemed guests, this is Tema, our BEST test pilot. She is certainly quite rough around the edges, but her insight and experience bring prestige and quality to ImCorp products."

"Show us what you got then!" the Captain demanded. "Alright, if you would all join me in the auditorium we can get started." Heggin said,

The auditorium was basically a hangar bay with an incline added to part of the floor. This was where the chairs were placed. A large tarp served as a stage curtain. Many of the guests grumbled about the crude setup, especially compared to the epicurean dining hall. After everyone was seated (or standing, as there were not enough seats), the presentation began.

"For years pilots loyal to Palpatine had to settle for vessels built specifically by **Sienar Fleet Systems**. There is only ONE starfighter they build that is worth buying, the _TIE Defender_. Three hundred THOUSAND credits EACH?!" Heggin gave an incredulous smile. "I think we can do better, cheaper." The tarp suddenly fluttered to the deck. "Behold the _TIE Dominance Fighter_ and _Dominance Interceptor_!"

Behind the fallen tarp, were two craft on turntables in front of a second tarp. These craft appeared to be _TIE_ _Interceptors_ with the top half of each solar panel removed. As the tables turned, other differences could be seen. Like the small hemispheres on each wingtip, the ogival tailcone behind the cockpit pod, the streamlined fairings on the trailing edges of the wings, and the greater quantity of transparisteel on the sides and top of the cockpit pod. The guests were far from impressed. Some began to laugh. Heggin cleared his throat.

"Because we have yet to acquire an actual factory to manufacture our designs, we can only offer these conversion kits. You send us several _TIE_s and we send you two of our conversions. We pay for the shipping costs, of course." Some laughed, others coughed. He walked to one of the _TIE_s. "Each _TIE_ receives two shield generators", he touched a wingtip dome, "a Class 0.75 hyperdrive", he touched the tail cone, "and conformal fuel tanks", he touched a wing fairing. "Those are the parts we have to build. But, the reason we need several _TIE_s per conversion," the turntable stopped rotating as Tema climbed into the open cockpit. Heggin promptly distanced himself. A deafening roar came out of the engines. The_ TIE_ looked like it was about to rip free of its restraints. Tema then shut the engines down and the gusts stopped. "We cannibalize the engines from four _TIE Fighters_ or _Interceptors_ and add them to one pod. Ten…Ion…Engines… _TIE_. The NEW _TIE_. As a two-for-one special, we take the top half off each _Interceptor_ solar panel and place it on each Fighter's wingtips, so the Fighter gets to have four lasers."

"But the Interceptor only has two now." The large, mouthy Captain protested.

"So we just add two missile launchers to the cockpit pod cannon hardpoint, just like the _TIE Defender_. We provide the launchers, but you have to chose the model, since we cannot provide _torpedoes_ or _missiles_ so you have to use your own. Now so you can see what our products can do, we have simulators for after this presentation. This kit has a price of only twenty thousand credits. Your each drink costs ME more. But now for the real treat." The second tarp fell.  
The next two products revealed were nothing like the previous two. First of all, they were very large and robust with a length of around **ten** meters, wingspan of about **twelve** meters, and height of over **four** meters (roughly the size of an _X-Wing_). A dome similar to and the same size of the front half of the _TIE_ pod tipped the front while the rear half of the _TIE_ stuck out of the rear of the giant. Each wingtip had **two** small parallelogramic solar panels, the top pair being parallel with the fuselage. A large elliptical canopy gave the pilot excellent vision all round. Finally, **two** very large engine pods flanked the main body. They appeared to be **Koensayr** R200 _Ion_ _Jet Engines_. NOW the guests were paying close atten- tion!

"Behold the mightiest starfighters the galaxy has ever

seen, the **ImCorp** _Fighter-Bomber_ and _Attack Bomber_!" A holoprojector behind the fighters turned on. "Since testing these against the Rebels would have ruined the element of surprise for the FULL scale demonstration, we tested them against…the Ssi-Ruuk."

The hangar lights dimmed as the holoprojector began to play.

The image shown was recorded from the bridge deck of a _CARRACK_ cruiser. The most obvious object was a planet, surrounded by capital ships. In the foreground, twenty-six **ImCorp** starfighters; in two groups of fourteen and twelve, respectively, moved to attack the Ssi-Ruuvi vanguard; six _WURRIF_ light cruisers, thirty _FW'SEN_ picket ships and twelve hundred _SWARM_ droid fighters, a force 50 greater than the fleet that attacked Bakura! The audience was stunned. But some began to mutter. Heggin cringed. He knew why. They were thinking that they were watching falsified images, i.e., a _holodrama_.

"Calm yourself, Lueg." He told himself. "Once they try out Tema's _Dominance_ for themselves, they'll be hooked!"

Something was clearly wrong with the recording, instead of using their _ion cannons_ to try to capture Heggin's forces, the Ssi-Ruuk warships were firing their _turbolasers_ in an attempt to DESTROY them! But Heggin's ships sped past the vanguard to attack their chosen target, an ovoid cruiser two hundred meters longer than an _IMPERIAL_ Star Destroyer, which hung in low orbit. Thousands of vessels that resembled long flattened pyramids the size of _LAMBDA_ shuttles surrounded this giant. These were actually Ssi-Ruuvi starfighters, used only for the defense of their homeworld, which this planet was!

At the corner of the image were three rows of

numbers. These represented the range between; the _CARRACK_ cruiser and Heggin's starfighters; the fighters and the Ssi-Ruuvi fighters; and the fighters and the Ssi-Ruuk flagship. The first row was at twenty kilometers and growing. When the second row shrank to five klicks, something unbelievable happened.

Ninety-two Ssi-Ruuvi fighters exploded from co-ordinated _laser fire_ and thirty-eight spun out of control after being hit by _ion cannons_. This spectacle was repeated EVERY HALF SECOND! Any other military force would flee from such a slaughter. Normally the Ssi-Ruuk would also. However, this was THEIR **HOME**. When the distance separating the two sides closed to two point five klicks, the Ssi-Ruuvi fought back. Each fighter launched quad salvoes of _concussion missiles_, a devastating barrage that should have ended it all. But none of the missiles were hitting. They were all exploding a hundred meters away! When the distance was half klick, over a thousand Ssi-Ruuvi fighters exploded in a single conflagration. EVERYONE in the audience yelled. The fat Captain was loudest of course.

"Now that's **JUST NOT POSSIBLE!!!**"

"Save it for postgame." Tema scolded. "You're drowning my thunder."

By now, there weren't any Ssi-Ruuvi fighters left in the immediate area, though tens of thousands were currently inbound. Five of Tema's fighters, from the fourteen ship squadron, broke off and headed back toward the _Carrack_ cruiser. The other nine provided top cover for the twelve-ship squadron as it dove at the Super Cruiser. The image began to shake as the bypassed Ssi-Ruuk vanguard caught up to the attack force. The planet and Super Cruiser swung out of view as the _Carrack _turned to face its tormentors. It didn't stand a chance, but since the audience was watching its alleged recording right now, it was obvious that something would save it. That 'something' was a _Victory _Star Destroyer, coming out of hyperspace less than a klick behind the _Wurrif_ cruisers. Two of them died before they seemed to realize that they were in a trap. The other four perished as they tried to maneuver out of the crossfire. The picket ships and droid fighters were knocked out by impossibly accurate ion cannon fire. Just as the _Carrack_ turned back around, the twelve-ship squadron reached firing range. The Super Cruiser was partially obscured by a mini-nova, followed by a hyper shockwave that shattered it like a city-sized glass bulb. The holoprojector turned off as the auditorium lights slowly brightened. The guests applauded, deciding that, real or not, the presentation was outstanding. The REAL audience was NOT clapping.

Far from the gathering of warlords, on board the _**Hedonist**_, the flagship of Heggin's fleet, the Shreeftut's blue-scaled personal aide (a member of the Elders' Council) watched the smelly, hairy 'things' rejoicing in the murder of his Nation's brave warriors with perfectly concealed disgust. He also noted the interest that the maestro of the wanton slaughter was showing for his translator, an almond-eyed human female in her late teens. It seemed that the were of a similar caste or breed, since their hair, eyes and skin were identical. Except her face was round and smooth, whereas his was tall, narrow and hard. Another oddity was the white gloves he wore. They had curved, rigid tips, far longer than expected. Also, his mouth curved outward on either side of his lips, suggestive of outsized canine teeth. The fiend abruptly trilled to the ambassador in Ssi-Ruuvi.

"You have no need for her, and to entech such a lovely young specimen is quite unnecessary."

The ambassador fought to conceal his shock. "She was the one who deciphered the threat you sent us, AFTER your unprovoked attack!"

"It was in retaliation for YOUR unprovoked attack on the Imperial world of Bakura, which resulted in the deaths of numerous citizens and the loss of the system, its resources, and its garrison to Rebel hands. It was to also show you the consequences of besmirching the honor of 'MY' Emperor. FURTHERMORE, I knew of an attack on a certain world where no bodies were found afterward. No corpses. Nothing. Now, I suspected it was you; but it is amazing that you would DARE attack a world so far from your territories. It seems you are desperate for new energy supplies." He smiled, and the curves were INDEED very large fangs. "The world that girl is from is within the 'Great Prosperity Sphere' which is heavily defended. I trust your loses on the raid were excessive for the results achieved. So, I worded my message in the language of our people, and if you were in fact responsible, then my raid would avenge THAT insult as well. The fact that you've responded to it, and that you brought the girl, to serve as a translator it would seem, betrayed your guilt. Now, you had better give her and any other survivors, as well as the remains of those you enteched, back to me. Also I must insist on you finding out where the enteched energies were delivered and halt their further use. Return those to us as well Any failure to meet ANY of these demands will result in my 'showing you the meaning of my birth name'."

The human stared straight into the ambassador's eyes. Suddenly, he felt an intense sensation of mind-crippling pain and soul-destroying anguish while visions of his people being slaughtered by armor-clad demonic beings armed with long, curved metal rods filled his thoughts. When the human's gaze flicked away, the experience

ended.

"I advise you to tell your Shreeftut about what I just did to you. It was real. But our Nations are even, and I have a proposal to make."

This was too much!

"What proposal? And how did you master our language?"

"How I learned is beyond your understanding, as is what I did to your mind, but I know of the ONE man you destroyed your fleet at Bakura. He killed the Emperor. I want to help you prevent such humiliating incidents in the future."

"You attack our holiest world, our homeworld, and say you want to help us?! What trick is this?!"

"You came here; which means that you wish to negotiate with me, we are negotiating NOW. I can guarantee an unquenchable supply of entechment subjects for your energy needs. No more wars. No more Ssi-Ruuvi deaths."

The ambassador was no fool.

"In return for?"

"When my Emperor as well as my commanding officer were killed, I became a Governor without a Governance. I have a fleet but no harbor. Any system I take, the Rebels will just put me on the run again."

"What about THOSE things?" The reptile pointed at the people on the display. "Now **I** know that **THEY** have plenty of worlds."

"But not with your industrial capacity, you 'relatively' secure borders, your compliant subjects. Loyal to the Empire my guests may be, but completely useless for the logistical rigours of my Grand Campaign. I need fuel, munitions, medicine and food, as well as complete port facilities for fifty capital ships. Oh, and if my sales-people succeed, I need a large factory complex

equipped to produce starfighters."

"And how do you plan to supply us with all the power we need?"

"I have, on this ship alone, twenty THOUSAND prisoners-of-war, yours, as a token of my sincerity; there are millions more where they came from. But I must have their bodies back, once you drain them. They'll be no trouble, I broke their necks myself. Marvelous fun, that. Give your Shreeftut my blessings. Oh, and one last thing, tell the girl she has to do anything I tell her. That's all."

"You heard what he said. I have to leave you here with him." He turned back to face the man. "So, what are you called anyway?"

The man smirked. "I am addressed as 'Kami Gakushi-Grai-Dono. She may call me Kami-Chan."

After the advisor left, a woman in a Naval Captain's uniform walked in.

"Thank goodness that disgusting thing is finally gone, Governor-Dono." Gakushi gazed into her hazel eyes. She flinched.

"I'm surprised you'd say something like that, knowing full well how I am going to supply the Ssi-Ruuk. I am the REAL 'disgusting one', having come up with this plan. They obviously haven't done this themselves, otherwise they wouldn't be having these problems. Either they couldn't 'conceive' this; or they did, but they couldn't stomach it. Really, I don't know why YOU haven't displayed any reservations about this, Captain."

"Because, they are Rebels and TRAITORS to humanity." She smiled. "And their deaths should give SOME gain to the Empire. Oh, and how shall we take care of this girl?"

"I think 'MY way'. After all, it seems that loser, Skywalker, didn't have any trouble. Neither should I."

"I'm sure she'll be grateful to you for granting her freedom."

"Don't EVER use that WORD around me again, Belnya." They only used each others names when upset. She raised her hand as if making a toast.

"To the Emperor Palpatine's health."

He returned the gesture, his slanted eyes sparkling copper while he laughed.

"To his 'health', indeed!"

After the sales presentation, most of the guests returned to the comfort and security of their own vessels. Some stayed onboard to enjoy the luxury ballroom and sports facilities. And some, taking a chance, tried out their skill against Tema and the other pilots of **ImCorp **on the simulators mentioned by Heggin. She tried not to beat them TOO badly, when she flew regular TIEs. In Rebel craft, she let them beat her, though she gave the REAL pilots among them a REAL fight.

She was not the ONLY one hiding her true ability. Garik Loran was one of those 'curious' about the new company, and as Wraith Squadron's top agent, he WAS a former actor, after all, the New Republic sent him to get as much intel as possible. Since Warlord Zsinj was dead and many of his surviving men were POWs, it was easy for him to play the role of 'out of work Wing Commander'. After she tired of debasing herself she sought him out. He had just exited his simulator. Unlike her, he wasn't wearing a flight suit or helmet, just his Navy uniform. They didn't waste breath with formalities.

"Why aren't you wearing a flight suit? If you had to eject, you'd freeze-dry."

He tapped his rank squares. "A 'Captain' is supposed to go down with his 'ship'. Only 'wookies' bail out." He used a slang term Imperials derived from the word 'rookie', which also took a racist jab at the Empire's favorite slave species. It made him feel vaguely sick, but showed no sign.

"So then how did you escape Zsinj's fate?"

He didn't miss a beat. "Easy. Wasn't there. I was flying support for the Raptor's when they tried to beat back the Rebels when they made their move. If I HAD been with him, he wouldn't have died."

"A _TIE Raptor_ against the _Millennium Falcon_? A duel between 'birds or prey'? No contest, you're not that good. Even Darth Vader himself was caught flat-footed by that shifty smuggler. After Dathomir, why did go it alone?"

"We were outnumbered, getting butchered. My squint had a hyperdrive, so I jumped out. I guess only I made it out. So I've been doing contract work. I heard there was a new player on the snubfighter scene. Thought it might be time to trade up."

"You never flew a _Raptor_? And you want to trade your ride for one of ours?"

"Yeah. Hopefully, the _Fighter-Bomber_. That kind of hitting power is phenomenal. It'd let me raise my fees."

"A '_Fi-Bo_'? For a beat-up squint?" She shoved him against the side of the simulator. "You insult our design team. However," She backed away, "if you work for us, exclusively, you'll definitely get one. That is, if you really sharpen up your skills. But you can trade for a _Dominance_."

"I was wondering why the weaker ship gets the tougher name? And I resent your (insulting) mocking of my skills."

"All advanced TIE-lineage ships have great names. _Fi-Bo_ and _At Bo_ are quite different beasts altogether. They're new-builds, not conversions. Their ability alone is sufficient to sell them. Especially after the are used against Ackbar and the Rogues. The Rebels already had a taste of the '_Domi_', and they couldn't handle it. Oh," her eyes seemed to look at some far away object, and her voice lightened "and the pilots I was assigned, the ones no better than you, I put in _Domis_ packed with proton warheads and made them fly into Rebel ships. How? I cut them with these blades 'til they begged me to let them die with value. My superior called them 'Jibaku'."

It took most of his self control to remain steady. "Really. I tell you what. I think you're some spice ad…"

He felt something very SHARP at his groin. She was FAST! And precise.

She smiled. "And I KNOW you're better than you seemed. I'm no fool. Or addict, except for mayhem and 'fun'. You game to mess up some Rebs?"

She would only let him back away if he pushed her hand away himself. " I'd like to check on that trade-up now, Ms. Tema."

"The name's Starstealer. Go to the hangar… I mean auditorium, and I'll send a tech."

After he left, she headed to an Engineering station and got on a comlink. "Gakushi-Dono? It's Tema-Chan. I JUST finished toying with their spy. As you guessed, it was the Lorrdian. Heggin feels uneasy about letting such a big fish go. I have my reservations too."

"Of course you do. Like me, you are a 'hunter'. But there is so much more sport in 'catch and release' than 'catch, gut, and mount on the wall'. Besides, we are after MUCH larger fish. Tasty fish. Fish that escaped Tarkin's 'aquarium' and splashed into the 'sea'."

"Can we risk the Rebels getting their hands on a _Domi_? Let alone their finding out about the _Fi-Bo_ and _At_ _Bo_. It could ruin everything."

"There are no secrets about the Domi's abilities. As for the other two, what matters more is that they have no idea about the capital ships, or the deal with the Ssi-Ruuk. Or, the existence of our 'friends'. OR…, the continued survival of myself. THAT, and Palpatine's return, will deal a blow to Rebel morale so GREAT, that it will NEVER recover."

As he walked to his private quarters/office Heggin heard someone clear their throat. The sound brought back difficult memories.

"I didn't expect you to come to this thing." He re-marked.

"Just as I didn't expect to be shot in the back by my own telbun." The very attractive dark-skinned woman snapped back. "The way you stole this ship, all by youself , I hate to admit, pure genius. And how you attained a battle fleet, nice."

"Not TOO nice, it's a secret everyone knows. Any Kuat with a ship arms it to the teeth. This one can outgun a Star Destroyer, just like a MonCal Star Cruiser. Hard to repair though."

"I'm surprised about the thug you use to keep from being 'cold at night' though. And you have some nerve serving these losers from my priceless collection of liquors.

Heggin laughed.

"To bad the blaster was set on 'stun'. Tema's nicer than you, but she's not mine. The firepower isn't either. I'm renting them from Madzen.

She made a retching sound.

"T-that serial killer?! H-he's h-here? But the Emperor had him imprisoned!" Heggin heard her dress swirl as she looked about to see if the fiend was near.

"We have those Rebel idiots & that Isard harlot to thank."

"Ysanne Isard? What did she do."

"As if you women didn't know. She let the Rebels take Coruscant without a fight. She didn't care about the morale effects OR the resources needed to retake

Imperial Center. Her idea was to take control of the supply of bacta. As if only one SSD, two ISD's and a VSD could have held Thyferra against an earnest assault. The Rebel fleet is much larger than when it won at Endor, where it put a far greater number of Imperial ships to flight. So her strategy was unrealistic. Even worse, her fleet was captured, with the exception of the VSD which was lost with all hands, by a small group of Rebels and smugglers. So we lost Coruscant, the fleet AND the bacta. Madzen was freed by the pro-Rebel mobs that opened up the prison. Somehow, he made his way to me and now commands my bomber wing."

"So…she handed it to them on a silver platter?!"

"Enough pleasantries. Give my daughter back to me!"

"She was NEVER yours!"

"I raised her from birth. You have one month in which to settle things."

"I could shoot you now, and it's what you deserve."

He turned to look at her, raising his hands in surrender. She was as beautiful as ever. Oh, how he hated her! But with a blaster pointed at him he couldn't satisfy his desire for revenge. He opened one hand, and his comlink fell out. Her exotic eyes widened. "When you confronted me, I signaled Madzen. He and a stormtrooper platoon should be here any second. If you start running now, you should be able to get away."

The look of desperate rage in her eyes he would cherish for the rest of his life. "Which way do I go, or shouldn't I trust you?"

"If you die here, I'll never see my daughter. And if you kill me, I guarantee that you'll be caught. The way I came is safe."

She took off running, her heels clicking rapidly down the corridor. Seeing her back was almost too much, with her long hair flowing past her shapely hips! He gripped his hands tightly and wrung them together, wishing her neck in between them. After two years, his hatred of her had only increased. _Of course._ He thought. _I'll still have you killed, Whether I decide to let Madzen do it, or let myself indulge in the depravity._ "Doesn't matter." He laughed as he walked into his office.

The next day Heggin received a stream of messages from his guests, declaring their collective interest of purchasing the T.I.E. conversion kits. The simulators worked! They were also quite eager to see a live demonstration of his products against Rebel targets. His response?

Dear fellow loyalists,

It is likely that the desired live-fire combat test will occur no sooner than next month and no later than this year's end. You will be notified at the earliest possible opportunity. Thank you for your business. Good health and fortune to you all.

Sincerely,

Lueg Heggin

Founder and C.E.O., ImCorp

After the guests left, three days passed before the Ssi-Ruuvi ambassador returned with the Shreeftut's decision.

"The gift was most appreciated by our people and he wants to know how large the next shipment will be, if we sign a formal treaty.

Moff Gakushi smiled. "In two months, I guarantee that you will receive a quarter million entechment subjects. Ten months after Phase One of my Grand Campaign, a hundred MILION will be sent to your labs, followed by another hundred million every… nine… months… for the next twenty-six years. In addition to the twenty thousand I already gave you, that makes a total of three BILLION, five hundred MILLION, two hundred seventy thousand. My price for such an awesome sum is quite meager in comparison."

It sounded too good to be true. "You said you have no territory. How can you give us this many?"

Gakushi sighed. He already said how! "My Grand Campaign is intended to break the back of the New Republic. This will allow me to capture hundreds of billions of victims eventually. Phase One will allow you to entech a hundred million at a time. Understand now?!"

"Yes. But it seems that you will need us to supply you, if your 'Grand Campaign is to succeed, that is.

The Shreeftut is willing to give you enough support, for the time being, for you to launch five more attacks of the size of your recent assault upon us."

Gakushi handed the Ssi-Ruuk a datapad with a stack of datacards. "These contain the information you need to reconfigure several factories, as well as the amount and types of supplies I need. There are design specs as well. Thanks for returning the corpses, by the way."

"So, what about the energies that have no bodiesies to return to?" Belnya asked, when the Ss-Ruuvi left.

"I will probably have to petition the goddess for help. For the time being, the dolls I have stockpiled will suffice. I am ashamed that I could only save a few thousand. They will hold it against me that I could not save all of the captives."

"But they girl was thankful, was she not?"

"Are you kidding?!" Gakushi snarled, baring his large fangs. "She insists that I should have left her to wait for her death! You still don't understand the ways of my people. I doubt they can ever return home again… just like me.

Another week passed. Finally Moff Gakushi addressed his fleet. "At long last our time for revenge and retribution has come. Phase One will commence in seven weeks. The Ssi-Ruuk have agreed to give us FULL logistical support." He paused. "We must take prisoners… then let the Fluties have them!" Cheers and laughter greeted him.

For years he had honed his soldiers fanaticism and racism to a razor's edge. And most were bad to begin with. As soon as he received his first command, he combed personnel files for the most disobedient and criminal. The best case of such barbarism was Sir Madzen, the serial killer. He was a member of Imperial Court until it was found that he had been the one killing noblewomen. Even an Emperor's Hand lost her life. Gakushi convinced Palpatine to lock up Madzen for a few years to 'cool off'. When Coruscant 'fell' to the Rebels, he contacted Starstealer for retrieval. While he waited, he killed plenty of Rebel and Pro-Rebel personnel and gathered intell. He rendezvoused piloting a freighter w/ a load of weapons. His reward was the command of ImCorp's _Domi-I_ and _At Bo_ Naval Bomber squadrons. Surprisingly, he is an excellent pilot and effective leader. Most of Gakushi's selections and saves proved themselves. The remainder?


End file.
